Short devotion - How Long?

Short devotion – How Long?

Psalm 4:2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? (NIV)

            The great sadness that I carry in my heart these days is seeing people that I thought I once knew, who are being deceived and deluded by intolerance and arrogance. They have transferred their faith from God’s glory and placed it into the hands of unscrupulous, powerful people. They have genuflected before the altars of ignorance and prejudice, believing in human idols who are glorified and worshiped like demi-gods, whose wickedness and crimes are whitewashed and set aside, excused and even embraced. I used to feel sorry for those among my friends who have been led astray. I now sadly realize that their true selves have been revealed.

            The Bible continually warns us of being led astray by false gods. The story of Israel is a history of God’s people constantly forgetting their Creator and Deliverer by turning to corrupt leaders and wicked kings who promised to make them great again. The story of Christ is similar, especially when His people blasphemously cry out “We have no king but Caesar!” They do this in order to kill Jesus to get rid of His woke ministry and allow the political powers to crucify Him.

            The same is true for the New Testament Church which faced fierce opposition and persecution because it dared to place its allegiance not in an emperor, military banner, or symbol of power, but in a meek carpenter who died for the entire world of sinners, outcastes, and aliens. True humility was cherished more than tarnished honor; grace and mercy were embraced more than greed and malice.

            We also live in such times and, sadly, like in the past, those who follow false gods will not admit their idolatry or change their misguided ways. However, as always, the remnant of those who truly believe in Christ’s compassion and love will eventually triumph. The truth will not be defeated and the glory that is due to God alone will not be shamed.

Point to ponder: Am I guilty of following a false god?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, challenge our churlish behavior and childish ways. Preserve us from accepting bullies who only serve themselves. Keep us living lives of love and compassion in these days of deception and hate. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Jesus is Lord - Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV)

A lot of people have some misconceived ideas about this verse. It seems to suggest that all we have to do is to make a verbal affirmation of who Jesus is and that we will be eternally saved. It would mean that all we would have to do in our lives about our Christian faith is just to pay lip service to Jesus and then carry on with whatever we want to in our lives. On the surface, it appears to be just that simple, but this is why the original context of what is written in scripture is so very important for a real and complete understanding of what the apostle Paul is expressing.

First of all, he is addressing the small congregation of Christians in Rome. When they initially read his words, they completely understood how radical they were. All over the Roman empire and especially in the capital city, Caesar was the only one who was proclaimed as Lord. To show their loyalty to the emperor, all Romans would pledge their allegiance to him by saying and believing he was their Lord. To declare that a Galilean Jew was their Lord was tantamount to treachery which was punishable by death. So, when the first Christians declared that ‘Jesus is Lord,’ they were not just giving lip-service to God, they were actually putting their lives on the line.

Secondly, they doubled down on this by further proclaiming that Jesus was risen from the dead because this meant that His Roman execution had been ineffective and non-enforceable. They were declaring that in Christ there was an even greater power than the might of the Roman Empire. They were stating that Jesus was supreme and His authority was everlasting. The Romans called Rome ‘the eternal city;’ Christians were now saying that the realm of eternity was beyond the reach of the whole city and empire, no matter how great it thought itself to be.

So, when we are asked to declare that ‘Jesus is Lord,’ in order to be saved, it’s not just mere words that are spoken, it means that we place a higher allegiance in Him way above and beyond anything that we encounter of Earth. It also means that we totally pledge our loyalty and devotion to Him beyond any power, person, or authority we experience in our lives.

Point to ponder

Do I honestly believe that Christ has my greatest allegiance in my life? Is there anything competing with my submission to him?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we call You ‘Lord,’ not because it’s just a polite title, but because You are the Supreme Authority in our lives. Everything else is subordinate to You and let us know that if we really want to be saved, there can be nothing else equal to You. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Come and join us for worship on Sunday mornings at 11:00 AM. You will be made very welcome. 😊

Today’s image is a drawing of Jesus based on a Greek icon. If you would like to view a larger version, please click this link: Icon.